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Is extra inventory weighing you down? Especially in the wake of the bustling holiday shopping season, you may have a surplus of items piled on store shelves or in storage. Excess product is bad for business — it ties up cash flow, takes up valuable space in store and in storage, and stale product could negatively affect conversion in store.

Customers wants to see a fresh selection in store and online on a regular basis — especially your loyal customers who check back often. Not to mention the degrading value and quality of inventory that expires or is perishable. With that in mind, you can see the value in having strategies on hand to liquidate that inventory.

Getting rid of your excess inventory is a necessary part of any retail business. But it’s also an opportunity to improve your bottom line. So let’s take a look at six ways to get rid of your surplus inventory.

So, what is retail gamification exactly? RetailDive defines the practice as combining “elements of play and common game mechanics such as points, badges, and other incentives in nontraditional contexts in order to affect behavior. Done right, gamification is a subtle but fun way to get people engaged.”

Retailers can reward participation in these “games” with discounts, promotions, free, merchandise, or other prizes. Although it takes some time and effort to set up and execute a game, the benefits can certainly outweigh the cost.

And more retailers are paying close attention to this marketing tactic. According to one survey from Boston Retail Partners, almost nine out of 10 retailers (87%) will use gamification methods in the next five years. And nearly half of those (46%) pointed out that a loyalty program incorporating these elements is one of their top priorities.

Retail gamification can be used both online and at brick-and-mortar locations to drive customer engagement. Now, let’s take a look at some brands that have used retail gamification successfully to drive traffic, bolster engagement, and increase sales.

Brick-and-mortar stores versus ecommerce — it’s no longer a choice between one or the other. Multichannel sales are here to stay as savvy shoppers engage with brands through multiple touch points, whether it’s in-store, online, through social media, or elsewhere.

Are you hesitant to take the next step from selling your products behind a screen to venturing into in-person sales? It can feel overwhelming to make the jump from exclusively selling online to adding face-to-face customer interactions, but there are definite benefits to your business that come with this growth.

When it comes to professional development, there’s rarely a substitute for good, old-fashioned networking events. If a retailer is interested in building new skillsets, making connections in their industry, or need some inspiration or ideas, it’s worth it to invest in your own professional development to help move your business forward.

More businesses are seeing the value in professional development opportunities. According to a report from Bersin by Deloitte, overall spending on learning and development rose 10% in 2014, to more than $1,000 per employee. And one of the crucial ways entrepreneurs can gain new knowledge is to attend industry conferences.

For those looking to broaden their retail business horizons, conferences are a great opportunity to learn from experienced speakers, connect with fellow retail businesspeople, and check out the products and services that could shape the future of your business. Luckily, there are plenty of worthwhile retail conferences in the U.S., Canada, and around the world that are hosted throughout the year.

Not sure what conferences and meetups are worth your time and cash? Here’s our roundup of retail conferences you should consider checking out through the rest of 2017 and heading into 2018.

From the days of checks and cash, payment methods have evolved along with technology. Currently payment cards dominate the transaction industry. According to The Statistics Portal, 34.7% of card holders use debit or credit cards for most of their purchases.

The same is true for the checkout experience. Customers no longer need to contend with old-fashioned registers and tills — technology is helping to eliminate long lineups and streamline transactions in the process.

So, what does the future of retail transactions look like for your business? What types of payments should your business accept going forward? And how should your checkout experience look for shoppers?

Tulip Retail states: “With a smartphone in every pocket and the expansion of advanced barcodes and imaging technologies for scanning products, faster alternative checkout methods will continue to grow across the retail sector,” says Tony Rodriguez, CTO of digital identification solutions provider Digimarc.

Here’s what you need to know about alternative checkout methods for your retail business, for now and in the future.

Year over year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue to make Thanksgiving one of the biggest shopping events of the year, with 55% of Americans shopping on Black Friday in 2014 according to Fundivo.

But the tides are changing — more and more Black Friday shoppers are moving from brick and mortar to online. Time reports that in 2015 shoppers spent $10.4 billion in stores, down from $11.6 billion in 2014. Meanwhile, Fortune reports that “Black Friday brought in $2.72 billion in ecommerce sales, up 14% from 2014. Thanksgiving Day saw a higher jump in online spending, with $1.73 billion in sales, up 25% from the previous year.”

‘Tis the season for retail sales — and that means it’s time to prep your holiday sales campaigns. Compelling email campaigns are key to driving sales and building awareness for your holidays sales, both online and in store. So, what can you do to ensure you’re getting the most out of your holiday marketing efforts? We’ve consulted some experts and compiled their advice into 10 tips for sending effective sales emails for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and beyond.

Technology moves so quickly that it’s difficult for businesses to stay on top of tech that could firm up their bottom line. And because there seems to be new technology developed every day, it can be tough to decide what your retail business should embrace and what might just be a fad.

Implementing new tech also requires money and resources, so you need to be sure that it’s worth the investment. And this is the situation retailers may find themselves in when thinking about chatbots. With all the chatter in the industry about conversational commerce, some merchants are wondering if they should invest in these automated bots to take customer queries, provide customer service, and potentially upsell to shoppers.

Yes, there’s a lot of talk recently about chatbots. So, let’s dig deeper into what chatbots are, how they tick, and if they’re right for your business.

Improving sales and growing your business isn’t just about attracting new customers — retaining the customers that you have is important for any retail business. It’s vital to maintain a balance of attracting new customers and retaining the ones you already have.

Typically, newer businesses focus more effort on attracting customers (sometimes referred to as offense), while more established retailers will focus more on retaining their current customers (sometimes referred to as defense).

Repeat customers validate that you’re doing something right. If your business has a large volume of one-and-done customers, there may be something about the buying process or product that isn’t wowing them — and that’s sending them elsewhere for future sales.

As retailers are well aware, foot traffic is a key factor for any successful brick-and-mortar location. And increasing that foot traffic to your physical store is a constant struggle.

More visits to your storefront from current and potential customers can boost sales and customer engagement, as well as give you the opportunity to connect in-person with real shoppers. The first step to increasing your foot traffic is understanding it. Measuring foot traffic provides you with the data you need to develop a strategy to increase it over time.

But one major challenge is that some retailers find foot traffic difficult to reliably track. While specialized agencies offer specialized tools to assist stores in measuring foot traffic, there are techniques retailers can use themselves to analyze store visits, and optimize store layouts accordingly. And here’s how to get started.

Whether your retail business is primarily ecommerce or if you’re operating one or more brick-and-mortar locations, fraud is an inevitable reality for merchants. Stolen merchandise and false transactions cost you money, cause unnecessary complications to maintain and track inventory, and lots of added stress.

We define fraud when it comes to retail as: “A transaction that is not authorized by a customer is referred to as fraudulent.”

It’s one of those unfortunate aspects of any retail business that you hope you don’t need to deal with often, but it’s an issue that requires training for you and your team.

So, how can you best prevent fraud, both online and offline? Let’s examine common types of fraud and discuss some ways to curb it.